Recently, I wrote to you about how relevant I find Alan Tofler’s “Future Shock” even though he published it 50 years ago. His description of our difficulty adapting to the velocity and volume of change inherent in modern life predicts many of today’s knowledge-worker-self-help-hot-topics, like digital minimalism, mindfulness and decision making. Our combination analog-digital world1 consistently sweeps us away from focus and doing into the rabbit hole of alternate opinions, data or simple diversion. All that swirl often drives me to cling too tightly to held opinions. It takes a lot of work to be thoughtful and thorough, yet seemingly most of what we know can be corrected, improved upon or even completely discards. And that’s unsettling.
So, here are three interesting things about how to be comfortable with changing our mind, how to ask better questions, and how to spot less than perfect yet very enticing information that could lead us astray.
Have a great week!
1) I think an essential step to developing as humans is separating who we are as people vs. what we know or do.2 But loosening the ties to one’s acquired knowledge and opinions can be scary, dangerous even, in certain contexts3, so why take the risk? According to Adam Grant, in this episode of the Knowledge Project podcast, becoming more open to re-evaluating your point of view opens the door to more rigorous, scientific-style thinking, which can then lead to deeper understanding. He calls this method “rethinking,” and it provides a useful framework for questioning what we know/believe in the pursuit of better. (He also explains why we should be THRILLED when proven wrong.)
2) To actively rethink, you gotta ask questions. The challenge lies in asking questions that get you valuable answers vs. bromides, bland confirmations or straight out lies.4 To help you improve your ongoing inquiries, Josh Kaufman provides essential guidance when asking for information, clarification, help, agreement and advice.
3) To actively rethink, you also need to keep consistently digging into a topic. Given the amount of information available, however, finding the good stuff can take significant time/effort, etc. (Newsletters that curate topics certainly help, tho.) Further compounding the challenge, it appears that scientific studies that can’t be replicated become the most popular.5 So, look twice before you link or think.
BONUS LINKS!!!
B1) Despite a recent focus on owning less, things certainly play important roles in our lives; here the ethnographer Paula Zuccotti documents everyday objects that got us through COVID lockdown
B2) I love a good product origin story, and here’s one dedicated to the all-time classic Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star basketball shoe (it even answers the ultimate question, “Who in heck WAS Chuck Taylor?”)
B3) I think when my kids ask me “What is jazz?” I will send them here, to listen to 1971 Ahmad Jamal, a favorite of my jazz-sensei mom
“Dig-alog”? “Ana-tal”?
Note: What we do is indeed important, as actions manifest existence, but defining one’s identity based on an occupation, victories, failures etc., limits growth. We are more than an area of subject matter expertise or a successful project or a lapse in judgement.
I’m thinking of highly command/control environments.
For examples of bad questions and worse answers, check out most professional sports post-game press conferences.
This makes sense to me, assuming non-replicable studies produce the most shocking findings, which then go into the social/traditional media blender, etc.
From another esteemed reader:
One way to help with information is to listen. Are you really listening when someone else is talking or are you thinking about what you're going to say?
From an esteemed reader:
Tim, IMHO, this is one of the really important life lessons. It takes some time and can come through reflection, opinions of friends or those you respect or individual research. But the realization that you could be wrong is the first step to entering discussions with an open mind. Of course that may be easier for a business issue than being objective about QAnon!